Italian man pulls three planes while walking on his hands in remarkable feat of strength

An Italian man turned the world of record breaking upside down when he snatched the title of most light aircrafts pulled by walking on hands with an impressive feat of strength.

Matteo Pavone, who calls himself "The Handstand Vehicle" managed to pull an incredible three in Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Asti, Italy, on 30 June.

Matteo’s love of sports started when he was just five years old, picking up karate and football and then moving on to rugby when he was 11. 

After a long series of injuries that made his professional life complicated, he had to quit rugby at the age of 24. “The worst of them was a bad back injury,” he explains, “the doctors said I could never play sport again, but they were wrong.”

Since 2018, he has been using CrossFit as a way to keep his body fit and train between record attempts.

Like all demanding fitness records, this one started with preparation and a good training regimen.

He trained three to six times a week and worked with a professional coach to develop a custom programme involving cardio, strength training and yoga to improve his flexibility.

“One can say I follow this routine: training, nutrition and rest. And then I repeat that until the day of the record attempt.”

He also works closely with a full team of experts to prevent injuries and to ensure a correct physical and mental recovery after the attempts.  That includes weekly appointments with a physiotherapist, and a nutritionist to curate his diet.

Matteo admits that he trained on a fairly caloric diet as he “loves to eat”.

With already holding records for the heaviest vehicle pulled by walking on hands and the fastest time to pull a vehicle over 20 m on the hands, he jumped at the chance to pull an aircraft.

Before the attempt could commence, the light aircraft had to be weighed to ensure it didn’t exceed the maximum of 5,669.90 kg (12,500 lb).

Matteo also had to pull the aircraft 5 m (16.40 ft) for the attempt to be valid.

With three aircraft connected to him, he readied himself in the handstand position and astonishingly was successful on his first attempt!

Having clinched the record title, he knew he wanted to go further.

He drew motivation from his team, the audience that came to see him and his daughter.

On his second attempt, he added on one more light aircraft but was unable to complete the distance required. 

On his third attempt he was tired, fighting fatigue and heat with blooded hands. “I still gave it my all,” he says. 

“I was lying on the ground, exhausted, with burning hands and almost no strength to speak when Lorenzo [Veltri, Guinness World Records Adjudicator] came to me and put a hand on my shoulder,” Matteo says. “He said he was sorry, but I didn’t break a record for just a few cm. The record was only valid for the three aircrafts.”

“I’m proud of this record,” he says, “but I’m also not entirely satisfied about the final result. I’m sure I can pull four aircrafts or even more, so I’ll try to do that as soon as I can.”

Due to the heat, the concrete was searing hot and even with gloves, Matteo suffered blisters on his hands. 

Furthermore, the total length of the convoy created by the aircrafts linked together made so that every tiny bump or flaw in the street played a crucial role in the attempt. 

Because of the heat and the impressive length of the convoy, the friction of the tyres made the aircraft harder to move. 

“The friction of the tires was much higher than it was during the attempts made during training, with lower temperatures,” he says.

However, in the end, he described pulling the aircraft as a "beautiful feeling".

“Hearing the official announcement of the record was a moment of pure euphoria,” he says. “I knew I’d done something extraordinary.”

Matteo defined this record a “team success” and felt a strong desire to use this success to inspire others.

“Everything can be achieved with hard work, determination and the support of your family and friends,” he says. “Believe in yourself. Surround yourself with people who love you. Look at exertion in the eye and challenge it with a smile, with hard work, with music. Everything will be possible.”

He dedicated the record to his daughter, who was celebrating her birthday.

Official Adjudicator Lorenzo was on hand to authenticate and present Matteo with his Guinness World Records certificate.